Women Shia Majlis; Qualitative Perspective

Abstract

The visage of the Shia faith and rituals, the majlis, has long been practiced since the times when Islam was budding in its soil. Practiced by the Arabs of the early times before the advent of Islam, andduring the initial days of nourishment of Islam by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the majlis or sitting, has been an eminent tradition with two projecting tools; oratory, and the minbaror pulpit. The contemporary Shia majalis are said to be the lineal continuity of the ones set up by Imam JafarSadiq in the beginning of the Abbasid era, when the Shia were strictly barred from conducting any relevant activities. However, it was the practice of Hazrat Zaynab (sa), Imam Ali Ibn Hussain Zain-ul-Abideen, and Umm-ul-Banin (sa) of organizing sermons and gatherings to spread the message and happenings of Karbala in Damascus, and Madina(Howarth, 2005). Shia majlis acts as a tool to wreathe the offshoots of the branch, i.e. the life of a Shia woman. It contributes in constructing the identity, and framing the cognition of women who actively participate in these gatherings.It frames and shapes the influential factors of a woman’s life, including their knowledge, decision-making power, health dynamics, social cohesion and networking, success, matters related to marriage and divorce, and gender diffusion in domestic and communal activities. It is quite evident that women have an active role in the initiation, and boosting up of the rituals, keeping in mind the composition of mournful chants and conduction of sittings by Hazrat Zaynab (sa) herself, after the incident of Karbala (Greenberg, Haddonfield, & NJ, 2007).The phrase ‘Shia’ literally refers to the terms of ‘followers’, ‘associates’, ‘partisans’, and has been mentioned in the Qur’an at different instances. Later, it has been specifically associated with the group within the Islamic faith, who came to adhere to the leadership of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib as the sole successor of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) after his death (Elbadri, 2009). In the light of the historical events of Islamic growth, the initialization of Shi’ism held its roots following the demise of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), when a group of people favored the succession of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib due to his eminent position as the first one to submit and accept Islam as his faith. According to their views, it was evident that Hazrat Ali (as) should have been the leader after the Prophet, as he was informed